


Scar Tissue

by mage_989



Category: Almost Human
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flash Fic, Friendship, Gen, Scars, Tattoos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-09-06
Packaged: 2018-12-24 22:34:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12022470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mage_989/pseuds/mage_989
Summary: “A scar!?  How-how big of a scar?”





	Scar Tissue

The scar was big. It wasn’t as big as it had been when the bandages were still on, but that was a small comfort to Rudy. The swelling went down, the redness faded to a degree, but it was still there mocking him. The raised skin, the discolouration, the way the light would hit it sometimes and for a moment it would look like it was fading and Rudy would have a small dash of hope that would be swiftly crushed against the reality that it was still there. That it would always be there. 

Rudy knew it shouldn’t bother him. It wasn’t like his skin was flawless after all. You couldn’t work with tech all day every day and not expect the occasional burn, cut, or bruise. He even had a scar on his upper thigh from when he was eight years old and wanted to experiment with how fast he could make his bike go down a hill, but that could easily be hidden by pants and even long shorts. And his parents had certainly made sure of that. No model could ever look anything other than a paragon of perfection. Every blemish and spot and pimple had to be hidden away, it was expected of him.

This though was in a place where everyone could see it. So he kept wearing long sleeves even in summer and even though the AC in the precinct was down and he found himself constantly wiping away sweat from his face, and wishing he could do this work back at his lab.

“Rudy, can I see you a moment?”

Rudy looked up to see Maldonado standing across the desk, her usual black jacket gone in favour of a short sleeved dark blue dress shirt that looked like breathable material. How Rudy wished he could wear something like that, but didn't dare.

“Of course,” he said, and got up as she directed him to the nearest conference room. 

“What can I do for you, Captain?”

She went to the small fridge stationed in the corner of the room and pulled out a glass.

“You can start by drinking water. I don’t need you passing out from heat stroke.”

“Thank you.”

He sipped gently from the glass and then inquired again about what he could do for her. 

“I wanted to talk to you about that,” she said, pointing at his arm.

“My shirt?” he asked, trying to feign ignorance.

“No, what you are hiding with it in the middle of this heat wave.”

Rudy turned his head away from her and rubbed at his forearm.

Maldonado sat down and put her hand gently on that same arm.

“Rudy, I want you to know that no one here is going to judge you for it. It’s a part of the job sometimes and you certainly aren’t the only one to earn that physical badge, but if it’s really bothering you this much I have a suggestion.”

She lifted up her sleeve to expose her full shoulder. The tiny green leaves that Rudy had seen peeking out from under her shirt were revealed to be connected to several vines that wrapped around her upper arm. They drew together at her shoulder in a flower that was bursting with reds, blues, and purples from each individual petal.

Rudy's eyes widened.

“May I?” he asked, reaching out his hand.

“Of course.”

His fingers traced gently over the tattoo and pulled slightly at the centre of the flower where the barest indentation remained from where the bullet had gone in.

“I can give you the name of my artist if you’d like. They also do skin matching if you’d rather not go for something so bold.”

Rudy sat back, wondering why he had never thought about this before. 

“I-I like to think about it, Captain, and thank you. Thank you very much.”

“You’re welcome.”

The End


End file.
